Metal Detecting Forum

Muriatic Acid. In 17 years I've tried a gang of concoctions. Muriatic Acid is the fastest, easiest way I've found. And I've read here that others use it too.
Dump your clad (no pennies) in a bucket with soapy water. Swish around some till mud, and what ever is loosened up. Rinse. Drain off water. Depending on amount of coins. Add the acid. Doesn't take much. Swish around. Coins start changing as if by magic. Want to take it another level? Tumble them with Ceramic polishing abrasive. Now this acid is used for cleaning tough jobs. Boat bottoms etc. BUT use common sense. Read the directions. Use rubber gloves, eye protection just in case. Some don't care what their coins look like. But if you want to brighten them up, pretty easy, best way I've tried.

I use muriatic acid to clean my gold nuggets but never tried it on clad coins. The stuff I can get is 32% and even this lower percentage can and will knock you on your butt if you breath it so BEWARE!!!!! ALWAYS use outdoors with a breeze if you must. When I used to coinshoot I'd clean my clad using vinegar & salt then rinse....always kept the zinc/copper pennies separate and did them in one batch....nickels I also did in separate batch....dimes and quarters also in separate batch. Any Buffalos and V nickels I'd clean up later with steel wool...….

I've stayed away from the muriatic acid cleaning. I use the same procedure as oneguy. A good handful of coins in a rock tumbler with some gravel, 1/3rd cup of vinegar and a healthy tablespoon of salt and tumble for 30-40 minutes. They don't come out mint state, but good enough for my bank. Do the cents by themselves. HH jim tn

Been using it in my tumbler for years for the clad which I separate from the copper. The pennies I use lemon juice and will clean them well. On the clad I run them in lemon juice too and take out the ones that look god, the others I rinse off good and put them back in my tumbler with the aquarium gravel water and very little muriatic acid and be careful when you put it in as it will smoke a little, then put my cover on and tumble for maybe half hour and drain and rinse good. Now I will run them back in my tumbler with water and lemon juice to clean off the rest of the acid. I notice after the acid and rinse if you let them dry they seem to turn blue looking and why I get them back in water with the lemon juice to get the acid off the clad.
Some come out nicer than new, some get a gray finish or even pink looking and may have to do some several times. I have a 25 pound tumbler and a 5 pound one and the 5 pound one gets used for the ones that I have to do over several times as it seems to work better.
Now on the Wheaties I use a vibrating tumbler with the aquarium gravel, water and a little cleaner until I see them rotating and run those for maybe 5 or more hours and check them. Most clean up nice and look natural other than the rim edge come out lighter a bit, but after a while they look like they just came out of your pocket.

Rick

Sovereign GT since 1996
the Minelab Equinox 800 since March 2018
Timberwolfs HP for the Sovereign
Uni Probe For The other detectors
Got the detectors, just need time to use them all

What type of Ceramic polishing abrasive do you use, and where is it available??? PM me if this is a sponsor problem. Also, have you ever used the "Green" muriatic acid? It is supposed to be almost fumeless and safer? I think I read where is is %20 instead of %32.

I use a thumbler tumbler bought used and 1/2 pound of stainless shot and Lime away any hardware store just separate pennies from all other clad run over night like new!
Best way I tried a bunch I ordered shot off @#$%& mixed bag different shapes.